Cherubs Are Tougher
by supersherlocked1529
Summary: When James' mission in Russia got messed up, James did not manage to escape. He is taken captive by Vladimir Obidin and his life is now in peril. CHERUB knows he is still alive...for now. Back at campus, everyone is worried. Will he make it out of Russia? DISCLAIMER: I do not own CHERUB (i wish). But, this story is of my own creation. This is my first fanfic! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

James was back in the deserted apartment with his shower curtain blanket. He had finally managed to unlock the pink phone that he had stolen from that woman in the street. Her words were ringing in his head- "My boyfriend will kill you! Do you know who he is?"

At the time, he was too pumped up on adrenaline and desperation to pay any attention to anything she said, but now, he had calmed down. He considered the scenario. She looked rich- well richer than the average Aero City resident anyway. If she had a boyfriend who was anyone, there were very few choices from anyone who might actually be in her league. From her words, she hadn't sounded like she was joking about the 'kill you' part... And the only person he knew in Aero City who fit that description was the Obidin brothers- Vladimir, since Denis was married. If that was the case, they would easily find him by tracking the mobile phone. He realised that if they found him, the consequences... Well, they didn't bear thinking about. The very thought sent chills down his spine.

He looked back at the phone and started to dial the campus emergency number. For six agonising seconds he heard the ring tone until he heard a voice with a brummy accent say, "Unicorn Tyre Repairs, how may I help you?"

"This is agent twelve-oh-three, I need Ewart Asker now!" The voice on the other end said," James! I'm so glad to hear from you! There's a grade 1 missing agent alert out on you! Ewart's on his way to Russia now. Where are you?"

" I'm in-" he broke off when he heard sounds of cars and sirens- the police.

He peeked out of the window, hoping to see the cars swing past the building and go wreak havoc is some other unfortunate person's life. But no such luck. They skidded to a halt in front of his building and at least twenty heavily armed men jumped out of the cars. He recognised them to be the Obinins' private army. With a sinking feeling, he saw Vladimir in the lead as they crashed into the building.

"Shit!"

"James, what happened? Where the hell are you? I-"

"Look, the people I was hiding from just found me and...crap. I have to go now. Find me! Please!"

He hung up. He looked around and realised that there was absolutely no chance of escape... They would shoot him down the moment they saw him since they had probably covered all possible exits. He was trapped. He knew that they would definitely find him if he tried to hide, so that, too, was futile. While his panicked mind was going over all the scenarios, the door of his flat crashed open. Vladimir was standing in the doorway. When he saw James, his ugly face twisted into a sneer which made him look about as ugly as a frozen pile of dog turd.

The last thing James heard before the butt of Vladimir's rifle bashed into his head was, " So we meet again eh, English Boy."

Zara found Lauren and Kerry in the cafeteria sitting at a table with their food untouched. They looked up expectantly when they heard her approaching, but seeing her face, they realised that it wasn't good news. Zara felt her heart twist when she saw the gaunt looks on Kerry and Lauren's faces.

"James managed to put a call through to the emergency CHERUB number. Unfortunately, halfway through the call, it seems as though James' pursuers caught up with him. He hung up and we think he was captured. I'm so sorry. Ewart is on his way and we have arranged for some reinforcements to help him find James."

Kerry said," well at least he's still alive right? They'll find him won't they?" her voice broke, and she began to sob and Lauren joined in. Zara felt her eyes moisten at the sight of two of her CHERUBS in tears.

"Yes," she said. "They will do everything they can." But in her heart, she knew that the chances of finding him in good health were pretty slim.

**Guys! This is the first time I am ever writing any kind of fanfiction, so constructive criticism is appreciated. If you want me to continue, then I will... So let me know! Hope you liked it! Please review...**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

James woke up with a throbbing in his head. It was too dark for him to make out any of his surroundings. In his dazed state, he felt a weird sensation in his arms- as though they were numb. He tried to move them to feel his head injury but realised that they were tied above his head. Immediately he was wide awake. He could make out that he had ben tied to the ceiling but wasn't hanging. He could feel the ground with his feet.

He tried to feel the knots binding his arms to see if they were lose enough for him to untie. His fingertips touched something hard and cold. He hadn't been tied to the ceiling, he had been chained... Now he was in a worse situation( if this situation could possibly get any worse), he couldn't even untie the chains, they weren't like rope. "Shit," he said out loud.

Immediately he heard the shuffling of feet nearby as someone got off a chair. "English boy, awake at last!" James recognised the voice of Vladimir Obidin. " Hello again. I'd be lying if I said I was pleased to meet you," said James. Vladimir smiled without humour. "Good," he said," you wont survive long down here if you lie." as if to accentuate that, he aimed a brutal punch to James' gut.

James would have doubled up in pain but his movements were restricted.

Angered now, James said, "I see your leg is fine." Obidin smiled,"You are not a very good shot, only gave me a flesh wound. It will heal soon. Unfortunately," he said, throwing another punch, "the same cannot be said for you."

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?" asked James.

"You do not know?" Vladimir said, his voice dangerously soft. Seeing James' blank look he continued," Denis is dead. Dead! YOUR BLOODY AUNT AND UNCLE KILLED MY BROTHER! How can you not know? Who were they working for? Tel me, who. Were. They. WORKING FOR?" He bellowed in James' face and proceeded to punch him in the face.

James was horrified. Through the pain, he said, "Dead?" He couldn't believe it. " That is impossible! You've got it wrong. They can't have-" He was cut short by Vladimir who roared, " Why would I lie about my brother's death you idiot? You will tell me everything you know or else I will extract it from you in ways you will certainly not enjoy. And watch your mouth, any smart aleck comments, and I will punch you, kick you or even stab you, depending on how annoyed I am. If you try my patience, you will live to regret it. I promise you that."

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2 hours later James was on the brink of unconsciousness. Vladimir had kept asking him questions like, "who were your aunt and uncle working for?" , "what was their plan?" and many others. James went on insisting that he didn't know anything until he could scarcely speak.

"I was just living with them while in Russia! I don't know what they did, I swear!"

This only made his tormentor angrier. Eventually, Vladimir realised that James wasn't going to tell him anything so he stopped. He said, " You may not talk today, but tomorrow i'll send some of my more... Uh... Experienced friends. That ought to loosen your tongue." He smiled nastily, spat in James' face, turned on his heel and walked away.

Alone in his confinement, James groaned. His arms had lost all feeling, and the chains were the only things keeping him upright. He could taste the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, but was too tired to even spit it out. He was in all kinds of pain, and when unconsciousness came, he welcomed the blackness with (figuratively) open arms.

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Ewart touched down at Aero City airport. The moment he switched on his phone, he got a message from Zara about James' call to the CHERUB emergency helpline. They had managed to trace the call to some abandoned apartments in the fringe of the city.

Once he met up with his team of reinforcements, they decided to go to the apartments to see if they could find anything that would lead to James' whereabouts. The leader of the team was a British man called Craig, who had been part of the SBS earlier. The entire force consisted of 10 men including Ewart. Only Craig knew about CHERUB. The rest believed that he was under protection of MI 5 due to his relations with Boris and Isla.

At the apartments, the only things they found were the remnants of James' coke cans and an empty bottle of Vodka. According to the phone call, they had to assume that James was being held in the Obidins' heavily fortified residence. All they had to do now was get into the fortress, save James from the hands of an enraged man with very good resources in his home ground, an preferably get away from Russia alive.

Ewart sighed. He had never been James' biggest fan, but he shuddered at the thought of leaving a fellow CHERUB, who happened to be his son's godfather, in such a perilous state. He couldn't let that happen. He gritted hid teeth and turd to Craig. "We have to make some plans," he said grimly.

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**Sorry for the delay in updating this story! Hope you liked it! However, i do have exams coming up now, so I wont't be uploading anything for the next monts. Next uploed will be in April.**

** Please read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! 'm done with my exams and am ready to start updating again. **

**Thank you for the reviews, especially BaconPiano. Your review was the one that prompted me to write this chapter! (thanks, i needed that push!) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! **

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Chapter 3

James was awoken by someone slapping his face repeatedly. He opened his eyes and saw the bearded face of one of Vladimir's goons. His vision was blurry, and he blinked to clear his vision, but it did little good. That was a bad sign. If his vision wasn't clearing, it could mean all sorts of injuries, which he did not want to think about. The pain from the previous day was beginning to resurface.

He heard the bearded man say to someone else, "He's awake, get the cables."

James was hurting, dazed and was now getting scared. H_ow far would they go? _he wondered. He didn't want to end up dead in a remote part of russia without his sister and friends... He wanted to see them again. He wanted to be a successful CHERUB and get his black shirt. He wanted to turn fifteen... Suddenly it hit him that he _was _fifteen. He had spent his fifteenth birthday in a dingy Russian dungeon being tortured by a lunatic, after two MI5 agents had stitched him up.

Before his thoughts could go any further, his body began to convulse as the electricity flowed through him. When it stopped after a few seconds, he was in to much shock to register what had just happened. He could barely make out what the two men were shouting at him. His brain was too fuzzy to translate the Russian. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, another shock went through him. He bit down hard and bit his cheek in the process. As his mouth filled with blood, he felt the current leave his body. He heard the men now. " Who do you work for? What are they planning? Answer us or you die!"

Spitting out the blood, James said, " i don't know. Please, just stop. I don't know what my aunt and uncle did. Just let me go." his voice broke. The bearded man spat at him in disgust. "Let you go? Yeah right!" He signalled to his partner who hit a switch. Once again, James convulsed as the current ripped through him. When it receded, he was in too much pain to stay awake any longer. He saw the blackness and embraced it.

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Ewart had just received a very interesting call from Zara. Apparently, the CHERUB mission had been going on at the same time as a CIA mission and they had some agents undercover in the Obidin compound. Ewart knew that this was the only way to get James out of there. His own task force knew very little about the inside of the compound, and someone on the inside would be their only chance. It was a long shot, but it was their only option. Ewart was prepared to try it, because otherwise, the chances of getting James out alive were close to zero.

He and Craig had arranged to meet one of the CIA agents and were waiting for him in the abandoned apartments where James had stayed for a few days. Presently they heard footsteps in the passageway outside. The drew their guns in anticipation, just to be safe. A man wearing the uniform of the Obidins' private army walked in with his hands up. He said in an american accent, "I'm Eric Partridge, CIA. Slava is my current alias. " Ewart recognised his face from a picture that Zara had sent him. He lowered his weapon. Craig did the same. They had plans to make.

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**Hope you liked it. Please read and review!**


	4. Author's Apology

Guys, I am so glad that there are people who actually like my story. Unfortunately, I am not being able to upload right now because I am out of station. We're going to Thailand for a vacation! Yay!

The problem is, I write my stories on my iPad and I don't have wifi here so I can't post anything. (i am updating this from a friend's laptop, btw)

but, no worries. I am still writing so the moment i get back, i will update maybe two chapters. I am working on how to get James out of that basement.

Meanwhile, please review and give me ideas and tell me your thoughts. Reviews really are love.

Sorry for not being regular with my updates...

3 SS1529


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